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Maciej Obara
Maciej Obara is a renowned Polish alto saxophonist, composer, and bandleader, widely recognized on the international jazz scene. He established his Polish-Norwegian quartet, releasing three albums on For Tune Records: Komeda, Live at Manggha, and Live in Mińsk Mazowiecki.
Since 2017, Obara has been associated with the prestigious ECM Records label, debuting with the album Unloved. His subsequent ECM releases – Three Crowns (2019) and Frozen Silence (2022) – have firmly established him as one of the most distinctive and compelling voices in contemporary European jazz.
Obara has collaborated with legendary Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stańko and has been involved in a range of acclaimed projects, including Petter Eldh’s Koma Saxo – Post Koma (2023, We Jazz Records), two albums with Gard Nilssen’s Supersonic Orchestra (If You Listen Carefully, the Music Is Yours, Odin Records / Family, We Jazz Records), and the AUKSO Chamber Orchestra, for which he composed a concerto for saxophone, piano, and orchestra. He continues to lead his critically acclaimed quartet, featuring pianist Dominik Wania, bassist Ole Morten Vågan, and drummer Gard Nilssen.
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Gard Nilssen's Supersonic Orchestra: Family
by Mark Corroto
Why can't all music be supersonic? That does not mean supersonic as in a speed exceeding that of sound, but sound that is sonically superlative. Drummer, composer, and bandleader Gard Nilssen's music is seemingly always sonically superb. His 17-piece Supersonic Orchestra was captured in 2022 at the Mondriaan Jazz Festival in Den Haag, Netherlands, for Family, his follow-up to If You Listen Carefully The Music Is Yours (Odin 2020). The Supersonic Orchestra is made up of seven saxophones ...
Continue ReadingMaciej Obara Quartet al 12° Festival Musicale Krzysztof Komeda
by Angelo Leonardi
Maciej Obara International Quartet 12° Festival Muzyki Filmowej Krzysztofa Komedy Varsavia 27.9.2021 Per il ruolo fortemente innovativo avuto sul jazz in Polonia, il romantico lirismo espresso in brani memorabili e la morte in giovane età, Krzysztof Komeda ha incarnato l'archetipo dell'eroe tragico e resta l'emblema del jazz polacco. Non c'è forse alcun jazzmen della patria di Chopin che non abbia reinterpretato i suoi temi o rivolto a lui un tributo. Maciej ...
Continue ReadingMaciej Obara Quartet: Three Crowns
by Mark Sullivan
For its sophomore ECM release this Polish/Norwegian quartet titled the album after the Trzy Korony summit of the Pieniny mountain range in the south of Poland. While it may be premature to describe the album as a peak or summit, it is a substantial artistic statement. There have been prior jazz interpretations of works by Polish composer Henryk Mikołaj Górecki—whom Maciej Obara came to know before his 2010 passing while living in the composer's hometown of Katowice—but the two versions ...
Continue ReadingMaciej Obara: Unloved
by Mario Calvitti
Al suo esordio su etichetta ECM, l'altosassofonista polacco Maciej Obara, classe 1981, è in realtà al suo nono disco da titolare, e al quarto (ma primo realizzato in studio) con il quartetto di cui è leader, completato dal connazionale pianista Dominic Wania (conosciuto quando entrambi militavano nel gruppo del trombettista Tomasz Stanko) e da una sezione ritmica tutta norvegese formata dal contrabbassista Ole Morten Vågan e dal batterista Gard Nilssen, precedentemente già apparsi, benché separatamente, in altre produzioni ECM.
Continue ReadingMaciej Obara: Unloved
by Mike Jurkovic
Seemingly from thin air, the meditative music on Unloved, Polish alto saxophonist Maciej Obara's ECM debut, envelopes you in its improvisatory, chamber atmosphere and stays with you through the darker parts of the day. Spectral piano Dominik Wania, expressive double bass Ole Morten Vagan and airy percussion Gard Nilssden, composers and band leaders all, contribute mightily and selflessly to Obara's bare, lyrical sketches; filling them out and forming them into a whole consciousness, into motifs and tone poems ...
Continue ReadingMaciej Obara: Unloved
by Ian Patterson
Unloved marks a before and after for alto saxophonist/composer Maciej Obara, whose star has gradually risen since his debut as leader, Message from Ohayo (Polish Radio Katowice, 2007), and his subsequent stint with Tomasz Stanko's New Balladyna Quartet. However, it's arguably with his quintet Obara International, featuring Dominik Wania, Gard Nilssen, Ole Morten Vågan and Tom Arthurs, that Obara has attracted most attention. Championed by Jazztopad festival's international showcase tours, Obara International's extensive travels have been documented in several excellent ...
Continue ReadingMaciej Obara Quartet: Dominik Wania/Ole Morten Vågan/Gard Nilssen: Unloved
by Karl Ackermann
A distinct vernacular, unabashedly quixotic lyricism and an authoritative style of playing are among the notable characteristics that define Maciej Obara. The Polish saxophonist and composer had performed with Tomasz Stańko in the trumpeter's “New Balladyna Quartet" project and he has recorded with John Lindberg, Ralph Alessi, Mark Helias and Nasheet Waits. Obara was also on board for the Fonda/Stevens Group Trio + 2: Live in Katowice (Not Two, 2009). Unloved is Obara's ninth album and his ECM debut.
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Frozen Silence
From: Frozen SilenceBy Maciej Obara
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